In an appearance on the 'Chris Vernon Show', the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year explained that the New York City lifestyle may have been a little too much for him to handle.

"I can look back at it and say I was ready for New York City, but I wasn't," Noah said. "Not just the pressure. I remember after the first game I had 60 people in my house. I'm too lit to play in New York City. Memphis is perfect for me."

Noah, now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, signed a four-year, $72-million deal with the Knicks in 2016. He appeared in just 53 games over two seasons before being waived in October with two years left on his deal.

The two-time All-Star's stint in the Big Apple was plagued with injury, a 20-game suspension for taking performance-enhancing drugs, and a feud with then head coach Jeff Hornacek. All of those factors led to his eventual dismissal from the team.

"When I got kicked off the team, it was New York Fashion Week and I was getting paid a lot of money and I had no direction," Noah added. "And so I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life because if I kept going in the direction I was going and staying in New York I probably wouldn't be here right now."

Prior to his troubled time in New York, Noah had a mostly successful nine seasons with the Chicago Bulls, where he was named to three All-Defensive teams.

The 33-year-old signed a one-year, $1.7-million deal with the Grizzlies on Dec. 4. He's averaging 6.2 points and 3.8 boards through five appearances.